PULSE Miami

A new location for PULSE Contemporary Art Fair - Miami's Ice Palace. December 3 - 6 general admission was $15. First impression is that this is a serious and high quality show ... it was a little tricky figuring out a plan of attack - but the art works kept us excited and moving along at a steady pace. The work and galleries were very diverse good mix of media, main and alternative art - the crowd was energetic - good buzz and feel! Interesting to see sculptural 3D work mixed in with the 2D works ...

A special find at the end IMPULSE - galleries exhibiting solo artist booths. Our favorite Packer Schopf - with Brian Dettmer. Brian creates amazing works by cutting apart books - have to see to believe!
Don't miss the special features/programs thru out the PULSE fair ... concerts, performers, video lounge ... large scale sculpture scattered around the fair and lawn.

SCOPE Art Show

Scope Art Show Miami - 2136 NW 1st Ave.

Right away we noticed a big change in energy and excitement here! The show is smaller than last year, but the quality of the art was just as nice and the buzz was great! The dealers seemed very happy with the show and sales ... the popular medium of choice seemed to be cut paper and wood. We enjoyed the works by: Evol, graffiti art on cardboard, at Wilder Gallery, ceramic works by Cecile Molina at Galeria Yemaya, and paintings by Pablo Serra.

Allow 2.5 to 3 hours for viewing

AQUA Art Fair

Just down the side street from Fountain is Zones and Aqua Art Miami.
Zones will take you just a minute or two to see, a nice gallery showing group exhibitions.

Aqua Art Miami is located across the street at 42 NE 25th Street - with a wonderful entry. This fair is in a renovated industrial building with great graphics/graffiti on the side of the building. $15 for general admission.
Always a little overwhelming to enter this fair ... the ceilings and walls are 20+ feet tall - you feel like a mouse in a maze. Once you get a plan and start viewing the booths it is very enjoyable! Established galleries with recognized and emerging artists at a higher level of craftsmanship. A select few artists out of the show who work in exciting new mediums: Jordan Eagles works with blood / Krause Gallery, Etsuko Ichikawa draws with molten glass / Randall Scott Gallery and Deb Todd Wheeler uses recycled materials / Miller Block Gallery.
Allow approx: two hours to view the fair.

Fountain Fair Miami

There are little surprises as we walk thru the neighborhood - galleries, open storefronts ... everyone getting their art and artists out there to be seen. We passed by Lilienthal Art Studios which was worth the stop.

The next main fair was FOUNTAIN Fair (2505 N. Miami) the fair has good signage (banner)on the main street, entry is thru a fenced empty lot - $5 donation. The fair itself is in an abandoned industrial building, which was a little dark and lacked air con, but it seemed to work well for the fair. Each gallery had their space presented as they saw fit, some much more refined, in every way, than others. A mix of mostly emerging artists and emerging galleries. We were pleasantly surprised to see Glowlab Gallery here with works from Roberto Molla (a favorite of ours). There are some great treasures in here! Art at all price-points and levels of craftsmanship.
Allow yourself an hour to take it all in.

Rubell Family Collection

We are on our feet now - walking to the next stop which is the
Rubell Family Collection (95 NW 27th Street) ... 45 years worth of collecting art - always worth the visit! (28 galleries - 45,000 sq ft) No entrance fee today / typically $10. There was quite a crowd here - tight to get in, but once inside there was plenty of room to move around and see the exhibition. "Beg Borrow and Steal"- Internationally renowned contemporary artists' building on the legacies of their predecessors as they present their own new ideas. A stunning collection in all different media. Amazing art and installations at every turn - a LOT of work out! Hard to choose a favorite artist or even favorite room.
Allow an hour and a half to view.

FOCI Art Fair

There are a lot of fairs, events and parties to attend ... in a limited amount of time. Plan your days ahead so you don't miss out - especially on the after hour happenings!!!

We started with the smaller fairs in the Wynwood district. Most of the fairs open around 10 a.m. - we were ready to go! We drove to the area there was plenty of street parking and others walking around for the same art reasons.

FOCI Art Fair (3000 N. Miami Ave.) was hard to miss with the Shepard Fairey graffiti on the outer wall ... they were just waking up when we arrived. The fair consisted of two industrial buildings (10,000 sq ft total) and a center outside space, general admission was $10. Both shows were very well displayed and curated - professional looking (lighting could have been better) but very nicely done. One building showed nicely established artists. Large installation pieces and impressive photography - the other was a blend of emergin(including FIU students) and established on a fresh level. It took us about 30 minutes to walk thru. FOCI had exciting events planned every day/evening - with lectures, live graffiti, performance, music and even a culinary night. We did not make it back for any of the extras.